Method of and a system for distributing electronic content

ABSTRACT

A terminal device, a memory module and a system for and method of distributing electronic content. A content provider stores a number of multimedia files. A first integrated circuit card interface receives a host integrated circuit card containing first authorization information, and a second integrated circuit card interface receives a user integrated circuit card containing second authorization information. An input device permits selection of one or more multimedia files from the stored of multimedia files. A control unit is responsive to insertion into the second integrated circuit card interface of a user interface card containing second authorization information compatible with the first authorization information contained in a host integrated circuit card inserted in the first integrated circuit card interface to actuate an output device to provide the content of multimedia files selected by the input device. The content provider, control unit, input device, and output device might be a laptop computer, a wireless personal terminal, or a personal computer. The multimedia content delivery system might be provided in a kiosk in a public place, permitting a user to wirelessly download an electronic copy of the selected media to a laptop computer or wireless personal terminal.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a system fordistributing electronic content, to a terminal device, and to a memorymodule such as, but not limited to, a prepaid integrated circuit ICcard, all in the field of the delivery of goods and/or services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The automatic distribution of multimedia content is becomingwidely available. By way of example, publicly available terminals orkiosks are often provided in such locations as shopping malls andconvenience stores to enable people to access audio or video materialwithout the need for a sales representative. The person wishing toobtain such media can select from available media and receive theselected media in various forms, for example by means of load speakersor headphones or by means of a video screen or by downloading the mediain electronic form. The person obtaining the media might be doing sosimply for one time information or entertainment value. Alternatively,the person might desire to retain a magnetic recording of the media,permitting the person to have repeated access to the media.

[0003] In some applications, the media might be made available to theperson desiring it at no charge. For example, a store selling musicalcompact disks might have kiosks at which selections from availablecompact disks can be sampled. Such a store might wish to limit thenumber of selections that any one customer can sample so as to preventpeople from simply listening to numerous samples with no interest inpurchasing any. A method must be provided to limit the number of sampleswhich the customer can access. Alternatively, such a store might havekiosks at which for an appropriate charge the complete contents of acompact disk can be downloaded for duplication. In such event, a methodmust be provided to assure that the appropriate charge is paid.

[0004] In other situations, multimedia content might be made availableto persons authorized to receive such content, but must be inaccessibleby others. For example, kiosks might be provided in hotels or in airportterminals at which persons who are traveling can obtain access to e-mailthat is intended for them, even though they do not have their owncomputer or other terminal device with them. Even if a person has anotebook computer or other terminal device accessible, the person maynot have e-mail access from that device. In such cases, a secure mannermust be provided to assure that e-mail can be accessed only by thecorrect recipient, and is not accessible by others. Similarly,multimedia content intended only for persons above a particular agemight be accessible, but persons not authorized for receipt of suchmultimedia must not be able to access it. For example, a kiosk might beequipped to permit users to play video games, but some of the gamesmight have content that makes it desirable to restrict access to thosegames to persons of at least some minimum age, such as 18, whilepermitting access to others of the games by all persons regardless ofage.

[0005] A computer network might be accessed by a user who types in anidentification and a password. After accessing the network, the personthen must type in identifiers of files that he or she desires to access.All of this requires a user terminal equipped with appropriate inputdevices, such as a keyboard and/or a mouse, and requires manual typingor other selection by the user. An undesirable amount of time isrequired for such a procedure, particularly if the user makes an errorin the typing or other selection. In addition, significant bandwidth isrequired for the communication link between the user and the desiredfile.

[0006] In the area of distribution of secured content, such as, movies,music, games, information and the like there has been a lot ofdevelopment lately. There are two important issues, namely howdistribution is handled, and how payments are handled. PCT ApplicationWO 00/30117, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference, describes a method of commercially distributing musicalrecordings comprising downloading a digital recording of music from akiosk to a self-contained personal music terminal which stores therecording in an electronic memory and can play the music recording.

[0007] There is a need for short-range communication, like Bluetooth, indownloading data from access points. The present invention provides away to take advantage of the convergence of the Internet and the MobileTelecommunication or Mobile Computing fields on terminals that do nothave any browsing capability. The Bluetooth standard is described inBluetooth specification v.1.0B. One implementation of Bluetooth isdescribed, for example, in PCT publication WO/0018025, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference, in which a Bluetooth linkbetween a Bluetooth enabled mobile terminal and a Bluetooth enabled dataterminal, such as a PC, is disclosed.

[0008] Although the Internet is making a breakthrough in the mobilecommunication world thanks to the introduction of browsers on mobileterminals, it is expected that some alternative models for accessing thecontent/information of the Internet will be needed. Whereas the browsermodel is heavily based on user interaction, other models where the usercan be more passive make particular sense in mobile environments becauseof potential limitations in the capabilities of some terminals, becauseof the lack of time for browsing, and further because of the importanceof accessing information quickly rather than freely surfing among thevarious sources of information available. In this kind of context, aterminal having a passive mechanism would help the user in contentdownloading, and preferably keep aspects of a browser based contentaccess model to keep flexibility in what content can be accessed.

[0009] The following summarizes some of the prior art systems forproviding multimedia content to users:

[0010] Published PCT Application No. PCT/US99/20789 (InternationalPublication No. WO 00/30117), the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference, shows a system for downloading music from apublically available terminal or kiosk to a self-contained personalmusic device for subsequent playback, with the kiosk being activated inresponse to insertion of a credit card or cash.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,719, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference, discloses a system for providingaccess at a retail site to a remote database to create a compact disk ora magnetic tape of a desired media, such as an audio or a videoselection.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,916, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference, shows a similar system, with the useror customer being issued an integrated circuit (“IC”) card which thecustomer uses to activate a kiosk from which the media is accessible.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,314, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference, concerns a system in which a customeris issued an IC card that includes a decryption key, allowing thecustomer to download a video selection that is associated with theparticular decryption key.

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,130, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference, discloses a kiosk which can beactivated by a credit card to allow copying of media.

[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,257, the disclosure of which is alsoincorporated herein by reference, shows a system for making mediaavailable to customers in which the system captures information abouteach customers' selections and then uses that information to build acustomer profile for each customer. When a previous customer returns,the system might suggest media which the customer's previous selections,as incorporated in the customer profile, indicate the customer mightlike.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present invention is a system and process for deliveringmultimedia content in a convenient and economical, yet secure, manner.In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a number ofmultimedia files are stored in a content provider. A first IC cardinterface receives a host IC card containing first authorizationinformation. A second IC card interface receives a user IC cardcontaining second authorization information. An input device is utilizedto select a multimedia file from the stored multimedia files, and anoutput device is utilized to provide the content of a selectedmultimedia file. A control unit responds to insertion into the second ICcard interface of a user IC card containing authorization informationcompatible with the authorization information of a host IC card insertedin the first IC card interface by causing the output device to providethe content of a multimedia file selected by the input device. Thecontent provider might be a database at a kiosk which includes the hostand user IC card interfaces. Alternatively, the content provider mightbe remote from the kiosk. Further, the content provider might be apersonal computer, a notebook computer, a wireless personal terminal, orany other processor system having sufficient memory. The host IC cardmight be inserted into the host IC card interface each time access isdesired, or it might be secured within the kiosk or other multimediaterminal.

[0017] According to another aspect of the invention there is provided amethod of distributing electronic content to a terminal device, whichmethod comprises transferring selected electronic content according topredetermined tailoring information, the tailoring information definingthe electronic content to be transferred to the terminal device. Themethod includes storing the tailoring information on a memory module,which is separate from and releasably attachable to the terminal device,attaching the memory module to the terminal device, reading thetailoring information from the memory module to the terminal device, andtransferring electronic content to the terminal device according to thetailoring information read from the memory module.

[0018] The present invention discloses a method to adjust and tailor thecontent that is being delivered through a broadcasting type ofinformation access system. The invention enables portability ofpreferences or settings in order to allow the user to transfer from oneterminal to another.

[0019] There is no need for browser software in the terminal fordownloading purposes. So instead of surfing on the spot, the only activeoperation the user has to do is to insert a card, or informationrelating to the card, in the terminal. The terminal also has thecapability of selecting content already downloaded in the terminal. Theterminal may have means for surfing off-line within documents received.The browsing and surfing take a long time when searching, e.g. usingsearch engines and trying to find pages the user is interested in, oreven when surfing from a page to another to find the desired documentwhen connected to the network.

[0020] In many cases the terminal user does not want to be active andbrowse. Therefore a process that is automatic and comfortable to use isneeded. In order to achieve this the content still needs to be selectedwhich is usually done by the user using a browser. It is proposedaccording to the invention that IC cards, as a preferred embodiment, beused for storing selection information, for example in the form ofparameters such as tailoring parameters. The selection informationpreferably is stored on the IC card and entered in the terminal from thecard.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the invention, the method comprisesenabling a service for a terminal having an IC card inserted in the cardreader, to provide access by the terminal to the services specified inthe card, and transferring content to the terminal automatically.

[0022] Furthermore, according to the present invention, there isprovided a step of subscribing to a service by transferring tailoringparameters, whereby on the basis of the subscription newly issuedelectronic content can be automatically transferred from an access pointto the terminal, the new content containing such information that wasnot transmitted to the terminal device earlier.

[0023] Furthermore, having the IC card inserted in the terminal and anRF link between the access point and the terminal, the access pointreads the tailorization parameters through the RF link. After thetailoring parameters have been transferred from the card to theterminal, an additional terminal can be utilised for control of thetransferable data to the terminal, enabling also different terminals tobe used by different card owners.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the present invention the transfer oftailoring parameters includes a time dependent subscription of the item.Each consumer may purchase the right to listen, read or view digitalcontent for a certain period against a certain fee paid by the IC card.Then the automatic downloading in the access point for the specificcontent is available during that period. This enables also the serviceprovider to control the number of users and to maintain statistics aboutthe users, and also to make decisions about the supply and demand atspecific access points. The access points which are controlled by aservice provider would preferably be located in geographical locationsknown to the service provider. Use logs of every access point may becollected based on the geographical location of the access point.

[0025] Furthermore, according to an embodiment, a subscription ofelectronic content includes transferring electronic copies of aperiodically published item to the terminal device.

[0026] Furthermore, according to an embodiment the serial number of theIC card is transferred to the access point, the validity of the numberis checked, and in case the card is valid, the content, i.e. thetailoring parameters, are transferred to the terminal. The validity ofthe card can be checked according to the need defined by the contentprovider.

[0027] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventionthe transferred data may include different information in digital formatand all digital information may be delivered through the access point tothe terminal. The digital information may include one or more of thefollowing: movies, music, games, electronic magazines, periodicals,newspaper and tv news. The digital information can be provided to theterminal device over a short range rf connection, such as overBluetooth, via the access point.

[0028] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventionthe transferred data includes a prepaid amount of the content. Thepre-payment may occur on buying the card. The card includes informationidentifying the content for which card is payment, i.e. what contentwill be delivered from the access point to the terminal. The card may beactivated when it is bought in order to avoid unallowed utilisation ofthe cards.

[0029] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventionthe transferred data may include a series of a movie. This allows acontent provider to provide different content and to find out whichcontent, and to which extent certain content, interests the customers.

[0030] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventiona certificate is connected to the goods/services or content to bedelivered to the terminals. The tailoring parameters with thecertificate transferred from the IC card are compared with a certificatestored in a register of certificates in the access point, and deliveryis allowed only if a match occurs between the transmitted and the storedcertificates.

[0031] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventiondistribution of the content to the access point may occur through acomputer network or wireless broadcast network, and it can be made totake place preferably late in the evening, early morning or duringnighttime when the network load is low. The delivery time may influencethe distribution expenses and will affect money paid for thecontent—i.e. the delivery time will affect the number of units deductedfrom the IC card against the delivered electronic content.

[0032] Furthermore, according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention, the invention relates to gathering of information on how manymedia, how much data, and what data are transmitted between an accesspoint and a terminal. Thus a count on the copyright payments for musicalcompositions may be maintained.

[0033] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present inventiona solution to control the access of many users to the same access pointis provided.

[0034] According to a further aspect of the invention there is provideda system for distributing electronic content, comprising a networkconnection as a transfer medium for transferring electronic content, anetwork element for transferring selected electronic content over thenetwork connection according to predetermined tailoring information, thetailoring information defining what electronic content is to betransferred from the network element, and a terminal device forreceiving electronic content over the network connection. The systemincludes a memory module for storing the tailoring, the memory modulebeing separate from and releasably attachable to the terminal device,and attaching means for attaching the memory module to the terminaldevice, the terminal device being adapted to read the tailoringinformation from the memory module and to transmit the tailoringinformation to the network element over the network connection, and thenetwork element being adapted to transfer electronic content to theterminal device over the network connection according to the tailoringinformation.

[0035] According to yet another aspect of the invention there isprovided a memory module for storing information and for use with aterminal device. The memory module comprises a storage medium forstoring tailoring information relating to specific electronic content,the tailoring information defining the specific electronic content thatthe memory module authorizes to be transferrable to the terminal device,and an interface for mechanically and electrically coupling the memorymodule to the terminal device, the memory module being releasablyattachable by a user to the terminal device for bringing the memorymodule into mechanical and electrical contact with the terminal device.

[0036] According to a still further aspect of the invention, there isprovided a terminal device having means for wireless communication. Theterminal device comprises a storage device for storing tailoringinformation relating to specific electronic content, an interface formechanically and electrically coupling the storage device to theterminal device, the interface allowing releasable attachment of thestorage device by a user to the terminal device for bringing the storagedevice into mechanical and electrical contact with the terminal device,means for reading the tailoring information from the storage device tothe terminal device when the storage device is mechanically andelectrically connected to the terminal device, the tailoring informationdefining the specific electronic content that the storage deviceauthorizes as being transferrable to the terminal device,means fortransmitting the tailoring information over the wireless communicationin order to receive electronic content to the terminal device accordingto the tailoring information read from the storage device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] These and other aspects and advantages of the present inventionare more apparent from the following detailed description and claims,particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings:

[0038]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of an electroniccontent delivery system in accordance with the present invention;

[0039] FIGS. 2-4 illustrate content menus that might be provided in anelectronic content delivery system in accordance with the presentinvention;

[0040]FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of an electroniccontent delivery system in accordance with the present invention;

[0041] Each of FIGS. 6-19 is a block diagram of an alternativeembodiment of an electronic content delivery system in accordance withthe present invention;

[0042]FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a process for delivering electronicscontent in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0043]FIG. 21 schematically presents an IC card,

[0044]FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment of registers utilised in theinvention,

[0045]FIG. 23 illustrates an embodiment of an transceiver locationregister according to the invention,

[0046]FIG. 24 illustrates one embodiment of an IC card maintenance andvalidity register of the invention,

[0047]FIG. 25 illustrates one embodiment of a Content description andavailability database of the invention,

[0048]FIG. 26 illustrates an embodiment of IC card ID register;

[0049]FIG. 27 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method ofcontent delivery information according to the invention,

[0050]FIG. 28 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of theaccess point according to the invention,

[0051]FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment of how two separate Bluetoothmodules are integrated in a single device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0052]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multimedia content delivery systemin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A multimediaterminal 40 a includes a microprocessor 42 which has connected to it amultimedia database 44, a user input device 46, a host IC card interface48, a user IC card interface 50, an audio output device 52, a videooutput device or display 54, and a user output interface 56 from whichan output can be provided in electronic form over an appropriate link58. In addition, if desired multimedia terminal 40 can have an externaldata interface 60 connected to microprocessor 42. Multimedia database 44has stored within it a plurality of multimedia files. By way of example,the files may include audio files, such as music, or video files, suchas movies, games, newspapers, or electronic books.

[0053] Multimedia terminal 40 a might be located in a kiosk in a retailestablishment such as a convenience store or a shopping mall. When acustomer wishes to access a multimedia file from database 44, theproprietor of the establishment at which multimedia terminal 40 a islocated inserts a host IC card 62 into host IC card interface 48 andprovides the customer with a user IC card 64. The customer then insertsIC card 64 into a user IC card interface 50 and actuates the user inputdevice 46 to select one or more multimedia files to be downloaded. Whenmultimedia database 44 stores a large number of multimedia files, theuser might utilize input device 46 to cause a display of a menu ofaccessible files on display unit 54. FIGS. 2-4 illustrate alternativeforms in which such a menu might be presented on display unit 54. Thecustomer then uses input device 46 to select one or more of theavailable files for downloading. If the multimedia terminal is toprovide only a single-use output of the selected file, for example forthe entertainment or the education of the user, then that output mightbe provided to audio output device 52 or video display device 54. Audiooutput device 52 might be a load speaker or a set of headphone, whilevideo display output device 54 might be a suitable display screen.Alternatively, if multimedia terminal 40 a is to provide the file in anelectronic format for duplication by the customer, then the selectedfile is provided in electronic form to user output interface 56 fromwhich it can be obtained and electronically recorded by the user bymeans of communication link 58, for example to a laptop computer or to awireless personal terminal such as a palm pilot. Communication link 58might be a wireless link, with user output interface being anappropriate wireless transmitter, or a wire link, with user outputinterface being an appropriate connector or jack for receipt of a cablefrom the customer or being a cable for insertion into a jack on thecustomer's laptop computer.

[0054] Host IC card 62 and User IC card 64 have encoded thereinauthorization information which microprocessor 42 compares. Theauthorization information relates the two cards and identifies files inmultimedia database 44 to which the user of IC card 64 is to bepermitted access. Thus, for example, the authorization information mayindicate a specific multimedia file, a group of multimedia files, acategory of multimedia files, a maximum number of multimedia files, or amaximum monetary value of multimedia files that the user is authorizedto download, whether to audio output device 52, video display device 54,or via user output interface 56 to a magnetic media output devicecoupled to link 58. If microprocessor 42 finds that the authorizationinformation in user IC card 64 is compatible with that in host IC card62, then the microprocessor permits selection of one or more multimediafiles and provides the content of the selected files for downloading. By“downloading” is meant providing information in audio format via audiooutput device 52, providing information in video format via displaydevice 54, or providing information in electronic format via link 58.

[0055] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, host IC card 62 is inserted intomultimedia terminal 40 a for each customer. FIG. 5 depicts analternative embodiment of a multimedia terminal 40 b which might beprovided as a stand-alone kiosk in a location at which the terminalproprietor may not always be present, for example in a central court ofa shopping mall or an airport terminal. Microprocessor 42, multimediadatabase 44, host IC card interface 48, and external data interface 60are provided within a physical security wall 66 of multimedia terminal40 b where these components are physically secure from access byunauthorized persons. User input device 46, user IC card interface 50,audio output device 52, video display output device 54, and user outputinterface 56 are outside physical security wall 66 where they areaccessible by a customer. If desired, multimedia terminal 40 a can alsoinclude a host input device 68 within physical security wall 66 topermit the owner of the multimedia terminal to cause input of controlinformation or data, for example to input additional multimedia filesthrough external data interface 60 for storage in multimedia database44. Likewise, such a host input device can be provided in multimediaterminal 40 a of FIG. 1, if desired. If multimedia terminal 40 b is in apublic location such as described, then host IC card 62 might beinserted and secured in host IC card interface 48 within the physicalsecurity wall 66 of a kiosk so that it is not necessary to have the hostIC card inserted for each use. By way of example, the host IC card 62could be inserted into interface 48 at the beginning of a business dayand be removed at the end of the business day.

[0056] Various types of microprocessor-based systems might be used as amultimedia terminal in accordance with the present invention. FIGS. 1and 5 depict systems in which the multimedia files to which access mightbe obtained are contained within multimedia database 44 within themultimedia terminal 40 a or 40 b of a kiosk. In the followingdescription, “kiosk 40” is used to refer to either the multimediaterminal 40 a of FIG. 1 or the multimedia terminal 40 b of FIG. 5, andthe depiction in the drawings of a kiosk 40 indicates either type unlessotherwise obvious. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the kiosk 40 might becoupled by way of its external data interface 60 to a server 70 which isconnected by a wireless communication network 72 to a main framecomputer 74. Server 70 might serve a large number of kiosks such askiosk 40, as depicted in FIG. 6. Main frame computer 74 can store a verylarge number of multimedia files and can augment the files withinmultimedia database 44 either at scheduled intervals or in response torequests by way of host input device 68. Alternatively, the principallibrary of files can be contained within server 70, with no need for aconnection to a main frame computer. A customer can download amultimedia file to the customer's laptop computer 76, as shown in FIG.6. While FIG. 6 shows the user IC card 64 being inserted into a user ICcard interface 50 at the kiosk 40, FIG. 7 depicts a variation in whichthe laptop computer 76 is equipped with the user IC card interface sothat the user IC card 64 is inserted into that interface within thelaptop computer.

[0057]FIG. 8 depicts the laptop computer 76 communicating with kiosk 40by means of a cable 58 b, rather than the wireless connection 58 a ofFIG. 8. FIG. 9 illustrates how a laptop computer 76 can be in wirelesscommunication with kiosk 40 which is connected through server 70 andwireless communication network 72 to main frame 74. Rather than a laptopcomputer, a wireless personal terminal 78, such as a palm pilot, can beused to download multimedia files from kiosk 40, as depicted in FIG. 10.Kiosk 40, in turn, can be connected to server 70 which can be connectedby wireless communication network 72 to main frame computer 74 forreceipt of a larger volume of multimedia files.

[0058] Rather than in a kiosk, the multimedia terminal can be includedin a laptop computer 80 as depicted in FIG. 11. FIG. 12 illustrates howa first laptop computer 82 can be receive host IC card 62, while asecond laptop computer 76 receives user IC card 64 to permit downloadingof files from computer 82 to computer 76. FIG. 13 shows similardownloading from a host laptop computer 82 to a user wireless personalterminal 78. Likewise, FIG. 14 shows downloading from a host wirelesspersonal terminal 84 to a user wireless personal terminal 78. Similarly,a personal computer 86 can be used as the multimedia terminal, asdepicted in FIG. 15. A user personal computer 88 can be connected to ahost personal computer 90 as illustrated in FIG. 16, or to a server 70as illustrated in FIG. 17. Similarly, user personal computer 90 can beconnected through a server 70 to a host personal computer 90, asdepicted in FIG. 18, or through a first server 70 and a second server 92to host personal computer 90, as in FIG. 19. Any of the above describedconnections can be wire connections or wireless connections.

[0059]FIG. 20 depicts the steps in an illustrative downloading processin accordance with the present invention with reference, for example, tothe system as illustrated in FIG. 8. In step S1, a connection isestablished between a laptop computer 76 and kiosk 40. In step S2 themicroprocessor 42 within kiosk 40 receives authorization informationfrom host IC card 62. If the host IC card is left within the host ICcard interface of the multimedia terminal during the business day, then,of course, that information might already be in the microprocessor. Instep S3 the microprocessor receives authorization information from userIC card 64. In step S4 microprocessor 42 determines whether theauthorization information from user IC card 64 is compatible with theauthorization information from host IC card 62. If so, then in step S5the multimedia terminal permits selection of one or more files frommultimedia database 44, and after the selection is made the terminalpermits downloading of the selected files in step S6. If step S4 resultsin a determination that the authorization information in user IC card 64is not compatible with that in host IC card 62, then the process ends instep S7.

[0060] The use of the host IC card 62 and the user IC card 64 enables aproprietor of a multimedia terminal to allow a customer to downloaddesired multimedia files, while limiting the customer's access toauthorized files only. In a retail establishment that authorizationmight be based on a payment made by the customer at the time the user ICcard 64 is provided to the customer. Alternatively, the user IC card 64can be a credit card so that charges for files downloaded by thecustomer are made directly to the customer's credit card account. Insuch case, host IC card 62 can include authorization informationidentifying credit cards which the issuer of user IC card 64 accepts asauthorization for the downloading.

[0061] IC cards or electronic chip cards are usually the size of aconventional credit card and have six or eight electrical contacts onone face and include inside an integrated circuit with memory and mayinclude microprocessors. Data and programs for manipulating the data andcommunicating outside the card are included in the integrated circuitcard. In the past the cards, like prepaid cards, have been widely usedin the purchase of telephone service, particularly in France andGermany, where public pay telephones accept the prepaid cards instead ofcoins. Typically the prepaid cards are purchased at a location such as apost office for a specific amount. The cards are inserted in a publicpay telephone, connection is made to the contacts and units of value areremoved from the card as the telephone call progresses. The mechanicaland electrical specifications of the cards are standardized, and one setof standards is published by the ANSI (American National StandardsInstitute), 11 West 42 Street, New York, N.Y. 10036 under the title“Identification cards-Integrated circuit(s) cards with contacts” ISO7816-1 and ISO 7816-2.*)

[0062] IC cards have been manufactured and are commercially availablefrom several companies including e.g. GEMPLUS Card International, Avenuedu Pic de Bertagne, Parc d'activites de la Plaine de Jouques, 13420Gemenos, France.

[0063] Once the prepaid card has been consumed, i.e., all of the unitsor value of the card has been used in calls, the user has to buy anothercard or has to refill the empty card to continue with the service.

[0064] The IC card which is purchased in advance and which is insertedinto the terminal may be active right after it has been purchased. Theactivity of the card may be given for only a certain period of time.Thus the activity depends on the time limits given to the card.

[0065] In FIG. 21 a card, like the IC card 138 referred to above isdepicted. The IC card includes a CPU 140, an IC card card identificationcode such as a serial number 142, a tailoring parameters register 144,and contacts 146 for enabling mechanical and electrical contact to thecard reader 126 in terminal 10. Tailoring parameters 144 with the cardID are stored in an IC card memory 150. After the card is inserted intocard reader 126 in the terminal 10 and the information is read from thecard to the terminal, the tailoring parameters 144, together with cardID 142 are accessible by the access point 20 via a Bluetooth link orother short range wireless link running between an access point/kiosk 20and the terminal 10. Every time an offer for delivery of goods/servicesis placed in terminal 10 by access point 20, the terminal has the optionto accept the offer, or not. The validity time of the card may becompared with a validity register stored in the IC card 138 and avalidity table stored in the access point 20 of the service provider orcontent provider. The card validity might be based on a fee paidperiodically such as monthly or annually. After the paid amount isreceived, the corresponding entry is made in the validity register.

[0066] With regard to the various elements of the IC card as being on anintegrated circuit, the microprocessor and several registers may be allcontained within a single chip. Also the information need not beallocated to unique space within the IC card memory. For example, thevarious numbers in the registers may be moved around under the controlof the microprocessor. This would be in accordance with the design ofthe particular IC card chip.

[0067] The serial number of the IC card and possible other functions,like time and date of validity, may be written into the integratedcircuit at the time of manufacture, or subsequent to manufacture. Anyconvenient or conventional type of circuit and method for the entry ofsuch data may be used.

[0068] In FIG. 22 one embodiment of the registers of the invention isshown. Reference number 180 depicts the location register of accesspoints. The service provider may manage the geographical locationinformation of the access points. The access point may collectinformation about the users in the access point The location informationmay be linked to the computer 30 of the access point 20. The IC cardmaintenance and validity register 190 may be linked also to the computer30. Content description and availability database 190 may be part of thecomputer system 30 as described in FIG. 4. An IC card ID register 170 ofthe access point gives the possibility to control transfer of data.

[0069] An access point location or transceiver location register 180 maycontain information about the access points located in the differentsites as described in FIG. 22. In FIG. 23 such a register is shown,where the transceiver or the access point ID, such as Transceiver No. 1,is presented in one column. Then the location of each access point isdescribed in a second column, such as 281001city. The information todeliver can be localized utilizing the location information of theaccess points. For example, advertisements may be distributed accordingto the location, and this information can be linked to the cards sold inthis specific area. Therefore the IC card ID column, having the IDs suchas 8139008877, can be added to this register. It will be understood thatmany other ways to link the IC card ID and the location of access pointcan be used.

[0070]FIG. 24 depicts one example of an IC card maintenance and validityregister 160. The register 160 includes an IC card ID column, a “Valid”column having validity data for the card in the form of No or Yes,indicating that the card is either valid or not, a content descriptioncolumn, having content such as AAA or BBB, that can be transferred fromthe access point, a locations column indicating the location where thecontent is available, a “valid until” column indicating validity time ofthe card data, e.g. January 2000, and a column “usage units” withinformation about the usage of the content or how many users have paidfor the card or how many transfers from the access point have occurred,e.g. 50 or 100, to utilize this information later.

[0071]FIG. 25 discloses one example of a register in content descriptionand availability database 190. The register 190 has a content ID datacolumn and a column with content description data, such as News andpossibly local news info or other specifying title. Further it may havea column with information about availability data for the content, i.e.in which location the content can be found. A DRM or digital rightsmanagement information data column may have a link to another serverwhere particular copyright payments may be arranged. Again there can bea column for usage data of the content, again for later utilization ofthe data. It will be understood that FIGS. 23 to 25 are shown asexamples only, and numerous variations can occur.

[0072] In FIG. 26 an embodiment of an IC card ID register 170, atailoring parameters register 172 which takes care of the tailoring ofcontent to be transferred to the terminal, and a possible certificateregister 174, with e.g. password, is connected to the goods/services orcontent register 176, respectively, in case a password is required fordelivering the content. Comparison between the certificate transferredfrom the prepaid card and the one in register may be performed in themicroprocessor. Alternatively, the comparison could be performed in aseparate counter or comparator (not shown).

[0073] The registers in FIGS. 23-26 relate quite close to each othersand they can be located close to the access point in a preferredembodiment or also in other locations, such as in the content providerlocation, in order to have the possibility of obtaining global contentor other additional content. These locations again are not limited towhat is presented, but other available solutions can be utilized.

[0074] A method of delivering content information in accordance with theinvention is further described in the FIG. 27. In step 200 contentfiltering parameters (ie. tailoring parameters) 144 are stored on ICcard 138. After the card is inserted into the terminal 10, theinformation is read from the card to the terminal in step 220. After theuser of the terminal 10 has entered the cell of access point 20, thecontent delivery device 38 or the access point 20 will send an inquiryto the terminal 10 in step 240. If the inquiry is recognized by theterminal 10, the terminal 10 responds to the access point 20 in step250, and a connection is opened between the terminal 10 and the accesspoint 20. Next, in step 270 there is a check whether the terminal issupporting the card application. If “yes”, the tailoring parameters areaccessible by the access point 20 via a Bluetooth link running betweenan access point/kiosk 20 and the terminal 10 in step 280. Based on thetailoring parameters, which now have been transferred from the card tothe Bluetooth transceiver system of the terminal, the content isdelivered to the terminal also in step 280. If the answer is “no” instep 270, the connection between the terminal and access point isterminated in step 290.

[0075] Tariff data as received from the IC card maintenance and validitydatabase 160 is stored in a register in the Content description andavailability database 190 for using that information, for example, fordigital rights management (DRM) purposes, analysis of a user, e.g. forpossible preference or behavior control of the particular itemdownloaded from the network by tracking consumer preferences at theprepaid center of the access point. That information may be used lateron to control the availability of different items in that access point.Possibly according to the consumption of the digital content theinformation (such as the mentioned tariff data) will be arranged to beavailable closer to the location of the access point in a local cache orproxy type device close to the access point. The station could thenprovide very fast downloads to the users, and the network downloadswould not load so much the whole network. However it is appreciated thatthe downloadable information may be stored at the access point, e.g.once a month, as a package, such as Magazine No 1, Magazine No 2,Magazine No. 3 etc, Movie No. 1, Movie No. 2, Movie No. 3 etc.,according to the publication of that information by the contentprovider, such as the publishing company. The storage of the informationpackage at the access point may occur from almost anyreproducing/editing/recording storage apparatus in the form ofinformation transfer. The transfer could happen through a networkconnection, or the information can be distributed to the shop ashardware such as on a CD, MP3, a Digital Video Disc (DVD), a videocassette tape et al. When received, the merchant can install theinformation to the access point from the received hardware. Otherpossible distribution channels can be wireless mobile communication suchas GPRS, EDGE, 3G, UMTS, DVB-T or other. Then the respective receiversystem would be installed in the access point. DVB-T transmission couldhappen in the time when the transmission time is cheap and the usage ofthe network is low, e.g. in the late evening, early morning or atnighttime.

[0076] When recording the downloadings in the access points, and addingthat information to the disclosed registers (FIGS. 23-26) it can bedetermined how many users have downloaded content and what content.Therefore, the existence of the copyright obligations for the musicalcompositions is easily determined, and the copyright owners or mediaindustry can collect royalties for their copyrights.

[0077] When the IC card is read by the card reader and validity of thecard is confirmed, the selected subscription is available to view and/orlisten. The music content may include at least one music code (countrycode, work code), the name of musical composition, the time duration ofthe musical composition, the name(s) of the artist(s), the country codeof the artist(s), the manufacturing or recording date, previewavailability, the owner(s) of the original disc, the country code(s) ofthe owner(s) of the original disc, and co-owner(s) and country code(s)of the co-owner(s), if any.

[0078] The so called OBEX or Object Exchange protocol can be used as atransport mechanism for the tailorization parameters between the accesspoint and the receiving terminal device. OBEX is rather flexible andsimple and can be used within the framework of one of the existingBluetooth profiles, in case the process of retrieving tailorizationparameters shall be open to just any Bluetooth terminal in the future.

[0079] As already said, in order to allow for tailorization of thecontent to be delivered on a terminal per terminal basis, tailorizationparameters are stored on an IC card. The information to be delivered tothat particular terminal is tailored in accordance with the preferences,setting, etc. Examples of those might be, but not limited to thosedescribed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,939: author, language inwhich document is written, date of creation, date of last update, lengthin words, reading level, quality of document as rated by an editorialagency, list of other readers who have retrieved this document(associative), attributes for each target object, first two digits ofzip code, first three digits of zip code, entire five-digit zip code,distance of residence from advertiser's nearest physical storefront,annual family income, number of children, list of previous itemspurchased by this potential customer (associative) that are stored astailorization parameters on the IC card. Information delivery then takesplace, again using a Bluetooth link between the delivering device andthe terminal. However, other possibilities to include as transferabledata may be catalogues of decorations. The user will load wall papermodels to the terminal and then “carry” this information home. Thenhe/she can view these patterns against his/her house walls. The images,photographs, on-line albums, applications like Java applets will beincluded. The parameters to filter the content may comprisesubscriptions of magazine issues Nos. 1 to 3, movie series: e.g. firstthree episodes, vouchers like one free copy of coming new magazine as anadvertisement.

[0080] A further embodiment of the invention will be illustratedregarding a situation when many terminals will access the servicesprovided by the access point. Whereas the present invention can beimplemented by using one short range rf transceiver at both the terminaldevice 10 and the access point 20, this further embodiment comprises anaccess point implemented with two transceivers, one being used forreceiving tailoring parameters from the terminal device and anotherbeing used for transmitting the electronic content to the terminaldevice. Accordingly, as depicted in FIG. 28, the access point 20includes at least a first transceiver module 104 and a secondtransceiver module 106. A first communication link 118 is establishedbetween the wireless terminal 10 and the first transceiver module 104 ofthe access point 20. A communication bus 120 is provided between thefirst transceiver module 104 and the second transceiver module 106 inthe access point 20 for transferring information about the communicationbetween the wireless terminal 10 and the first transceiver module 104. Asecond communication link 122 is established between the secondtransceiver module 106 and the wireless terminal 10 based on theinformation received from the first transceiver module 104. It will beunderstood that the number of the transceiver modules may differaccording to the needs of the specific site etc.

[0081]FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment of how the two separateBluetooth modules 104, 106 with specialized roles may be integrated in asingle device. In this example inquiries and Service Discovery functionsare handled in Bluetooth module one 104, and RFCOMM based functions(specified in the Bluetooth Specifications ) and other user data relatedtraffic are handled in Bluetooth module two 106. In the FIG. 32Bluetooth module one 104 and Bluetooth module two 106 each include threeseparate Bluetooth chips 130, but the number of chips may be any number,depending on the need. Each chip 130 comprises a driver part 132, amodule part 134 that implements at least the lower layers of theBluetooth protocol stack (whether the whole protocol stack, or only thelower layers are implemented depends on the role of the controllingentity or computer that the group of transceivers is linked to) and a RFtransceiver part 136, as would be known to a person skilled in the art.According to the invention there are two operationally separateBluetooth modules 104 and 106, Bluetooth module one 104 and Bluetoothmodule two 106. The modules 104 and 106 have separate baseband addressesallowing the modules 104 and 106 to operate independently. Module one104 is discoverable and connectable to other Bluetooth enabled devices10. Module two 106 is non-discoverable and non-connectable to otherBluetooth enabled devices 10, so the inquiries and other link andservice information is not reachable with this module 106. Between themodules is a data bus 120, allowing data transfer between the modules104 and 106.

[0082] Thus, the present invention, concerned with receiving at aterminal device specific electronic content based on tailoringparameters read from an IC card and delivered to the access point. Theterminal device can also be equipped with a regular web or WAP browserfor also accessing other information other than what is specified by thetailoring parameters.

[0083] The present invention is thus capable of implementation in manyforms, all of which utilize compatability between a host IC card and auser IC card to authorize downloading of multimedia files. Although theinvention has been described and depicted with reference to preferredembodiments, these are illustrative only, and rearrangements,alterations, and substitutions might be made, with the result stillbeing within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multimedia content delivery system, comprising:a content provider having a plurality of multimedia files therein; afirst integrated circuit card interface for receipt of a host integratedcircuit card containing first authorization information; a secondintegrated circuit card interface for receipt of a user integratedcircuit card containing second authorization information; an inputdevice for selecting a multimedia file from the plurality of multimediafiles; an output device for providing the content of a selectedmultimedia file; a control unit responsive to insertion into said secondintegrated circuit card interface of a user interface card containingsecond authorization information compatible with first authorizationinformation contained in a host integrated circuit card inserted in saidfirst integrated circuit card interface, for actuating said outputdevice to provide the content of a multimedia file selected by saidinput device.
 2. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising a multimedia terminal having said contentprovider, said first integrated circuit card interface, and said controlunit therein enclosed therein.
 3. A multimedia content delivery system,as claimed in claim 1, wherein said output device comprises an audiooutput device.
 4. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said output device comprises a video output device. 5.A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid output device comprises a communication link permitting downloadingof the selected multimedia file in electronic form.
 6. A multimediacontent delivery system, as claimed in claim 5, wherein saidcommunication link is a wireless communication link.
 7. A multimediacontent delivery system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contentprovider, said input device, said output device, and said control unitcomprise a laptop computer.
 8. A multimedia content delivery system, asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said content provider, said input device,said output device, and said control unit comprise a wireless personalterminal.
 9. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed in claim1, wherein said content provider comprises a server.
 10. A multimediacontent delivery system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contentprovider further comprises a mainframe computer coupled to said server.11. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a server connected to said content provider.
 12. A multimediacontent delivery system, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising amainframe computer connected to said server.
 13. A multimedia contentdelivery system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said multimedia filescomprise audio media.
 14. A multimedia content delivery system, asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said multimedia files comprise video media.15. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimed in claim 14,wherein said video media comprises text.
 16. A multimedia contentdelivery system, as claimed in claim 15, wherein said text compriseselectronic books.
 17. A multimedia content delivery system, as claimedin claim 15, wherein said text comprises newspapers.
 18. A multimediacontent delivery system, as claimed in claim 14, wherein said videomedia comprises games.
 19. A process for providing multimedia content,comprising the steps of: (a) storing a multimedia file, havingmultimedia content, in a storage unit; (b) associating firstauthorization information with the multimedia file; (c) receiving a userintegrated circuit card containing second authorization informationcompatible with the first authorization information; (d) in response tostep (c), providing the content of the multimedia file to an outputdevice.
 20. A process as claimed in claim 19, wherein step (b) comprisesreceiving a host integrated circuit card containing the firstauthorization information.
 21. A process as claimed in claim 19, whereinstep (d) comprises providing the content of the multimedia file to anaudio output device.
 22. A process as claimed in claim 19, wherein step(d) comprises providing the content of the multimedia file to a videooutput device.
 23. A process as claimed in claim 19, wherein step (d)comprises providing the content of the multimedia file in electronicform to an output link.
 24. A process for providing multimedia content,comprising the steps of (a) storing a plurality of multimedia files,each having multimedia content, in a storage unit; (b) associating firstauthorization information with each of the multimedia files; (c)receiving a user integrated circuit card containing second authorizationinformation compatible with the first authorization information of atleast one of the multimedia files; (d) in response to step (c),providing the content of the at least one multimedia file to an outputdevice.
 25. A process as claimed in claim 24, wherein step (b) comprisesreceiving a host integrated circuit card containing the firstauthorization information.
 26. A process as claimed in claim 24, whereinstep (d) comprises providing the content of the at least one multimediafile to an audio output device.
 27. A process as claimed in claim 24,wherein step (d) comprises providing the content of the at least onemultimedia file to a video output device.
 28. A process as claimed inclaim 24, wherein step (d) comprises providing the content of the atleast one multimedia file in electronic form to an output link.
 29. Amethod in distributing electronic content to a terminal device,comprising the steps of: (a) storing in a memory module tailoringinformation defining electronic content that is transferable to theterminal device, the memory module being separate from and releasablyattachable to the terminal device, (b) attaching the memory module tothe terminal device, (c) reading the tailoring information from thememory module into the terminal device, and (d) transferring to theterminal device electronic content selected according to the tailoringinformation read from the memory module.
 30. A method according to claim29, wherein: the method further comprises before step (d) the additionalstep of transmitting the tailoring information from the terminal deviceto a second device over a radio frequency link; and step (d) comprisestransferring the electronic content to the terminal device over theradio frequency link.
 31. A method according to claim 30, wherein theradio frequency link is a short range communication radio frequencylink, and the second device is an access point of a short rangecommunication system.
 32. A method according to claim 31, wherein: themethod further comprises bringing the terminal device into the coveragearea of the access point, sending an inquiry from the access point tothe terminal device, sending from the terminal device a response to theinquiry, and transmitting the tailoring information to the access point,and step (d) comprises transferring the electronic content from theaccess point to the terminal device according to the tailoringinformation.
 33. A method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the methodfurther comprises automatically transferring new electronic content fromthe access point to the terminal device, the new electronic contentfulfilling the tailoring information requirements and being determinedto not having been previously transferred to the terminal device.
 34. Amethod as claimed in claim 31, further comprising before step (d) thefurther step of transmitting a prepaid amount of money electronicallyfrom the terminal device to the access point.
 35. A method as claimed inclaim 34, further comprising: storing a money balance electronically inthe memory module, and deducting the electronically transmitted amountof money from the money balance in the memory module before the step oftransmitting the prepaid amount of money from the terminal device to theaccess point.
 36. A method as claimed in claim 31, wherein: the methodcomprises incorporating a first transceiver in the access point forcommunicating in a first communication path with the terminal deviceover the short range radio frequency link, and incorporating a secondtransceiver in the access point for communicating in a secondcommunication path with the terminal device over the short range radiofrequency link, step (a) includes using the first transceiver to receivethe tailoring information from the terminal device, and transferring thetailoring information received by the first transceiver to the secondtransceiver, and step (d) comprises transferring the electronic contentto the terminal device using the second transceiver.
 37. A method asclaimed in claim 29, wherein the tailoring information includes timedependent subscription period information defining a time period withinwhich electronic content may be transferred to the terminal device. 38.A method as claimed in claim 37, wherein the electronic content includescopies of a periodically published item.
 39. A method as claimed inclaim 29, wherein the memory module comprises an integrated circuitcard.
 40. A method as claimed in claim 39, wherein step (d) comprises:transferring the serial number of the IC card to an access point,checking the validity of the IC card based on the serial number, and inresponse to a determination that the IC card is valid, transferring theelectronic content to the terminal device.
 41. A method as claimed inclaim 29, wherein the electronic content comprises electronic goods orservices.
 42. A method as claimed in claim 41, wherein the electroniccontent is at least one content selected from the group consisting ofmovies, music, games, electronic magazines, periodicals, newspapers, andtv-news.
 43. A method as claimed in claim 41, wherein the electroniccontent includes a series of movies.
 44. A system for distributingelectronic content, comprising a network connection usable as a transfermedium for transferring electronic content, a network element fortransferring selected electronic content over the network connectionaccording to predetermined tailoring information, the tailoringinformation defining the selected electronic content to be transferredfrom the network element, a terminal device for receiving electroniccontent over the network connection, a memory module for storing thetailoring information, the memory module being separate from therealeasably attachable to the terminal device, and attaching means forattaching the memory module to the terminal device, wherein: theterminal device includes means to read the tailoring information fromthe memory module and to transmit the tailoring information to thenetwork element over the network connection, and the network element isadapted to transfer electronic content to the terminal device over thenetwork connection according to the tailoring information.
 45. A memorymodule for storing information and for use with a terminal device, thememory module comprising: a storage medium for storing tailoringinformation relating to specific electronic content that the memorymodule authorizes to be transferrable to the terminal device, and aninterface for mechanically and electrically coupling the memory moduleto the terminal device, the memory module being releasably attachable bythe interface to the terminal device to bring the memory module intomechanical and electrical contact with the terminal device.
 46. A memorymodule as claimed in claim 45, wherein the memory module is an IC card.47. A memory module as claimed in claim 45, wherein the memory modulecomprises a storage medium for electronically storing a monetary amountto be used as payment for the specific electronic content.
 48. Aterminal device comprising: a storage device for storing tailoringinformation relating to specific electronic content, an interface formechanically and electrically coupling the storage device to theterminal device, the interface allowing releasable attachment of thestorage device to the terminal device to bring the storage device intomechanical and electrical contact with the terminal device, means forreading the tailoring information from the storage device into theterminal device when the storage device is mechanically and electricallyconnected to the terminal device by the interface, the tailoringinformation defining specific electronic content that the storage deviceauthorizes as being transferrable to the terminal device, and means fortransmitting the tailoring information by wireless communication inorder to receive electronic content at the terminal device according tothe tailoring information.